


Just a Word

by F1_rabbit



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-19
Updated: 2016-06-19
Packaged: 2018-07-15 21:46:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7239751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/F1_rabbit/pseuds/F1_rabbit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex wants to find his soulmate, but he only has the most cryptic of clues to find them - their favourite word.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just a Word

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DamsInDistress](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DamsInDistress/gifts).



Mitch had never thought that he was different until he started school, and he realised that lots of the other children had words marked on their wrists. There was no pattern to the words, not like adults, that all had the name of their true love.

When he got home that night he asked his mum, "Why don't I have a mark?" Mitch pointed at her wrist, where the word 'Owen' was written; the name of his dad.

"You will one day, honey," his mum said, ruffling his hair. She went back to reading her book, but Mitch wasn't done, he needed answers.

"Why do the other children have words here?" Mitch asked, pointing to his own wrist as his mum took it gave him a kiss.

"One day you will have your soulmate's favourite word right there," she said, but Mitch still didn't look convinced.

"I don't have a favourite word," Mitch said, and his mum only laughed.

"If it was as simple as that it wouldn't be a miracle that soulmates existed."

Mitch nodded, not sure if he understood it all, but he had time to figure it all out. He went back to playing with his toy cars, making the noises as they raced each other around the room.

*

On the other side of the world, a little boy looked at his wrist, and the word 'car' that was written there.

***

Alex had always got a laugh out of his soulmate's favourite words. At first he'd thought that they weren't good at spelling. 'Klok' had been the first one, and it had given him a good laugh over the years. But then as he'd got to high school he'd realised that a lot of the words were film titles, and he'd ended up watching a strange collection of films, although it was useful when he'd realised that his soulmate definitely had a favourite genre.

 _At least I know what kind of movie to take them to on our first date_.

He pulled off his race suit after a disappointing race, glad that he was alone, and no-one could see the shock on his face.

There was a new word on his wrist – Prawn.

Alex set to searching the internet to see if it was a film, adding it to the long list of strange words that his soulmate had considered their favourite over the years. He wondered what they had on their wrist, what word he considered his favourite, for as much as he thought about it, he had no idea what it would say, which didn't help at all. He would only get his soulmate's name after they shared their first kiss.

*

Stoffel scratched at his wrist, the word mocking him as he covered it with his watch. The word 'champion' had been written there for the last seven years, never changing, and it had spurred him on to know that him and his soulmate felt the same way about success.

But now that he wasn't racing as much it was a cruel taunt, waiting for the occasional Super Formula race and hoping that he'd get another shot in a Formula One car, which would sound awful if he ever said it out loud.

He wondered what his soulmate did, and if they were champion of it yet. All he wanted was to meet them, so that he could thank them for the motivation, and have their name on his wrist for all eternity.

***

"I miss having you as a teammate," Pierre said, they were sitting on the floor of the underground car park that doubled as the GP2 garages here in Monaco, the smell of petrol and rubber surrounding them like a blanket, a familiar comfort.

Alex laughed, there was nothing to say to that. In a way it was easier now that they weren't teammates, it meant that they could be friends without worrying about what happened on track.

"I'm still beating you," Alex said, and he knew it was cruel, but they'd never had hold back with each other, they could both give as good as they got. But Pierre just looked distracted.

Pierre was wearing only a t-shirt and Alex could see the word 'chicken' etched on his wrist. So random, and without context, no help with finding his soulmate.

"Want to talk about it?" Alex asked, glancing around before sliding closer to Pierre so that he could give him a hug.

"Do you ever get sick of waiting for 'the one'?" Pierre instinctively reached out to touch his wrist when he said that and Alex did the same. It was hard to talk about soulmates and not fidget with the tattoo.

"Yes, all the time lately." Alex held out his wrist, loosening his watch so that Pierre could see the word 'prawn' written there.

Pierre laughed, and he wondered if it was his soulmate's favourite food. He realised that he liked prawns, Alex liked chicken, and he couldn't believe that it could be that simple.

Curiosity got the better of him, and Pierre pulled Alex close, dragging him into a messy kiss as he ran his fingers through Alex's fluffy hair, so silky through his fingers.

Alex was shocked by Pierre's sudden move, but then something clicked and it all made sense. The taste of Red Bull on his lips, so familiar and bittersweet. All the time that they had spent together, even when they'd first met they got on straight away and it had felt like they'd known each other forever. Surely that was what meeting his soulmate felt like.

There was the rumble of an engine and Alex pulled back, blush on his cheeks as he admired Pierre, his lips moist and pink, and his eyes glazed, lost in the haze of adrenaline.

Alex rushed to take off his watch, but the word 'prawn' stared back at him, and he took Pierre's hand, turning it gently to see that Pierre's wrist still had the word 'chicken' written on it.

"I'm sorry, I just had to know." Pierre turned to leave but Alex kept a hold of his wrist, stroking it with his thumb until Pierre was calm.

"You don't have to apologise for a kiss that good." Alex smiled and Pierre laughed, the tension broken. They went back to being friends, chatting about racing and life in general, but at least they knew now that they weren't soulmates.

 _That's definitely one way to find your soulmate, just go round kissing people until you have their name on your wrist,_ Alex thought, wondering how easy it would be to get a kiss from the rest of his friends.

***

Mitch was shouting something at Sean, but Alex didn't understand it, although knowing Mitch's sense of humour it could be any word that he found funny, and in any language.

"Hey ace, good race," Mitch said, before laughing at how much it rhymed.

The rain was falling and Alex wandered into the back of his motorhome, Mitch following him as he made his way to a little cupboard at the back, and Mitch looked confused once they were in there.

"Are you okay, ace?" Mitch went in for a hug, and he felt good wrapped around him. Alex rested his chin on Mitch's head, happy just to have him close. "Are you sad because I finished in front of you?"

Mitch looked up at him and his grin was perfect, it always made him smile, no matter how bad he felt. And that was when Alex decided that maybe Pierre's way of finding his soulmate was worth a try.

Alex leant down for a kiss, his heart racing as their lips met. Mitch's arms wrapped around his neck as he backed himself against the wall, Alex reaching down to grab at Mitch's perfect arse and Mitch took the opportunity to wrap his legs around Alex's waist.

Mitch nipped at Alex's lips and he could feel Mitch's smile, Alex opened his eyes, staring at Mitch's beautiful brown eyes. It all felt so right, and he didn't have to check his wrist to know that they were soulmates, he just knew.

He went in for another kiss, slower this time as he slipped his tongue into Mitch's mouth, deepening the kiss as they both relaxed into it, their bodies pressed together and it felt like heaven.

Mitch reached up to stroke the side of Alex's face, and Alex caught a glimpse of his wrist out the corner of his eye. It said, 'speed,' and although that sounded like something that would be Alex's favourite word, it wasn't his name, which meant that Mitch wasn't his soulmate.

Alex stroked over the soft skin of Mitch's wrist, putting him down on the floor as he stepped back, slumping down against the wall as he mumbled how sorry he was. "I… I thought that we might be soulmates. I'm so sorry."

Mitch came to sit next to him, their arms touching and he rested his hand on his knee. "Just because we're not soulmates, doesn't mean that we're not going to be friends for the rest of our lives." Mitch leant in for one last kiss, less frantic than before, the simple comfort of a friend and for the first time in a long while, Alex didn't feel the desperate need to find his soulmate. He was just happy to have such good friends in his life.

***

Stoffel had felt like it had been forever since he'd got to catch up with Mitch, he'd been so busy rushing between Japan and the F1 races that this was the first time he'd got to himself.

"Solid race in Monaco, did you have fun?" Stoffel asked, he'd had to watch it all on a dodgy livestream in Japan in the early hours of the morning. The race that he'd gone for had been cancelled due to a typhoon, and with all the travelling it had felt really tiring without him actually racing.

"Yes." Mitch grinned and Stoffel knew that there was juicy gossip to be had. It was one of the things that he missed with not racing in the same series, he got left out of everything fun.

Stoffel took a sip of his beer, staring at Mitch until he told him everything.

"Alex kissed me." Mitch smiled and Stoffel grabbed at his wrist, he knew that it was rude, but he and Mitch went way back, and if it was the other way round Mitch would do the same to him.

"You're not soulmates?" Mitch's wrist still had the word 'speed' on it, which meant that he wasn't Alex's soulmate, although the idea of it made perfect sense, Mitch and Alex were so good together.

"He kissed me just so he could know that we weren't soulmates." Mitch laughed, and Stoffel crinkled his face in confusion. "It was Pierre's idea, kiss all your mates until you find the one."

Stoffel smiled, was he suggesting that they kiss? He could see 'champion' being Mitch's favourite word, especially since he'd told him that he felt that this was going to be his year in GP2, and Stoffel was sure that his favourite word would be something to do with racing, it was his one true love, that and films.

"Do you want to?" Stoffel asked, shrugging so that Mitch didn't feel pressured into it.

"Not here." Mitch nodded towards the bathroom and Stoffel smiled in agreement. They both made their excuses, and Stoffel made a show of heading for the bar before using the crowd as cover so that he could head to the bathroom unnoticed.

Stoffel wandered in to see Mitch standing there with a cheeky grin on his face, and he followed him into a stall, laughing at how strange it all was, but it made sense, at least they would know.

Mitch bit his lip as Stoffel stood blushing. _Should I make the first move?_

But Mitch spared him from having to make a decision, his soft lips pressing up against his own, the taste of beer and Jäger sweet, adding to the intoxicating feeling of having Mitch close.

Stoffel's hand wandered down to rest at the bottom of Mitch's back, which earned him a little gasp and Stoffel deepened the kiss, no longer caring about soulmates, or the future, all he wanted was to wrap himself up in this feeling right now.

There was the sound of a door slamming, and it made them both jump, Mitch unable to contain his curiosity and he looked at Stoffel's wrist, but the word 'champion' was still there. Mitch glanced at his own wrist, just in case Stoffel was his soulmate but he wasn't Stoffel's soulmate, but the word 'speed' was still there, and he let out a little laugh in relief.

"Looks like we're not soulmates."

*

The rest of the night was a blur of drinking and laughing. Sean had got a taxi home, but Mitch had wanted to walk, and Stoffel didn't want to let him walk alone.

Half way back they'd passed a kebab shop and Mitch had begged Stoffel to have one with him, even though neither of them should be eating anything like that with their racing diets.

The man behind the counter looked tired, although it was a Monday night so it was quite quiet. Mitch told him all about racing and the man nodded politely as he made up two huge kebabs, topping it high with meat as Mitch tried to encourage him to put more on.

Stoffel paid, and told him to keep the change for having to put up with Mitch, and they wandered down the street as they ate. He was loathed to admit it, but it tasted so good, and Stoffel demolished all of it with surprising speed.

Mitch had eaten most of his when he grumbled that he was full, and instead of just putting the remains in the bin, he decided to throw the scraps of lettuce at Stoffel as he laughed hysterically.

"Stop it you prawn," Stoffel said, before laughing to himself, and Mitch stopped in his tracks, tilting his head as he stared at him.

"What did you say?" Mitch tried to point at Stoffel but he just ended up staggering from foot to foot as he tried to stay upright.

"It was just a joke." Stoffel linked arms with Mitch to stop him swaying on the spot. "It's from a film."

"Have you kissed Alex?" Mitch asked, stumbling over a drain cover as Stoffel caught him.

"No, why?" Stoffel looked at him with confusion, but Mitch only smiled.

"Just curious."

***

Alex was getting changed after an awful race, he hadn't even made it all the way round the first corner, and he didn't really want to talk to anyone. But there was someone knocking on his door, and it would be rude to ignore it.

He hoped that it wasn't Pierre, as much as he didn't blame him, it was just a racing incident, he didn't want to see him right now.

Alex held his breath as he opened the door, and he was relieved to see that it was Stoffel standing there.

"Sorry about your race." Stoffel wandered in to the room, shutting the door behind him and before Alex could even speak, Stoffel's lips were pressed against his and Alex felt a surge of lust rush through his body. He'd never felt anything like it before, and all the hairs on his body were standing on end, the crackle of static electricity sparking at his wrist and he didn't have to look at it to know what it now said.

Alex grabbed at Stoffel's shirt, trying to find a way in so that he could have more contact and when his hands stroked over Stoffel's perfect abs he let out a moan, far more desperate and needy that he could have ever imagined but he didn't care, he just wanted more.

Stoffel seemed to be able to read his mind and he was fumbling with Alex's t-shirt, standing on his tiptoes to pull it off, leaving Alex in just his boxers. Alex's eyes were drawn to the bulge in Stoffel's jeans, and Stoffel stripped out of his shirt before unbuttoning his jeans, letting them hang low as he moved in for another kiss. Softer this time, and Alex gasped as Stoffel's fingers found their way to his cock, lightly brushing against it as they kissed.

Alex let his hands wander lower, teasing Stoffel's nipples on the way down, earning him a plea for more as Stoffel pressed his hard cock against his thigh. He pushed down Stoffel's boxers so that he could grip his cock, holding it as he wondered what Stoffel would like and Stoffel thrust slowly into his hand, letting out the most beautiful moans as he started to stroke Alex.

It was messy and frantic, Alex let his thumb smear the pre-come over the tip and that was all that it took to have Stoffel coming hard, moaning into his mouth as he did the same to Alex. The rush of orgasm leaving him dizzy as he shuddered against Stoffel, holding each other up while they giggled with how good it felt, and how surreal it was.

Stoffel licked his hand clean, wiping the come off his wrist where the word 'Alex' was written for all eternity.

They ended up sitting on the floor, fingers intertwined as they rested their foreheads together, so happy to have found each other, and Alex had just one question.

"Why prawn?"

"It's from a film." Stoffel laughed with the realisation that he'd had that written on his wrist for the last few months. "Do you want to watch it together?"

"It's a date."

*

Pierre got out of the car to see that the word on his wrist had changed. It now said 'ace' and Pierre wondered who would have that as their favourite word.

He saw that there had been a lot of crashes, and when he saw Alex's name listed as one of the retirements he knew who his soulmate was, the only person who called Alex ace, and who would have seen him crash at the first corner.

Pierre felt all his anger subside, replace by curiosity, so he made his excuses and headed along to Mitch's garage.

Waiting for the race to end was the worst kind of torture, he would have done anything to have Mitch by his side so that he could find out if he was his soulmate.

Mitch came back to find Pierre sitting at the back of his garage, his leg jiggling and he was biting at his fingers.

"What's wrong?" Mitch asked, and he went to sit down next to Pierre.

"I think you're my soulmate," Pierre said, glancing up at Mitch as he bit his lip.

"Is that really such a bad thing?" Mitch said jokingly, but Pierre kept biting at his lip.

"What if it changes things with us? And with Alex and Stoffel?"

Mitch reached out to hold Pierre's hand, and they both felt the crackle of static electricity. "I think they're going to be too busy with their soulmates." Mitch paused for effect, he wanted to cheer Pierre up, and the dramatics were sure to make him smile. "Or should I say with each other."

Pierre's eyes went wide and Mitch had his cheekiest grin on. "Really?"

"Yes. So how about you and I find out if we're soulmates too?"

Mitch leant in for a kiss, merely a brush of the lips at first and he let Pierre take control. He was in no rush, since they were going to have the rest of their lives together.

**Author's Note:**

> *and obviously none of this actually happened, it is all a figment of my twisted imagination ;)


End file.
